Jessa Duggar broke his silence about his younger brother’s arrest Joseph Duggar.
“We heard about this sad news along with the rest of the world on Wednesday, and we are still in shock,” Jessa, 33, wrote in a since-deleted statement on behalf of herself and her husband. Ben Seewald via Instagram Stories on Friday, March 20.
“Our hearts are broken for this innocent little girl, and we know that this hurts God, who cares so much for children and the vulnerable. We keep her in our prayers,” Jessa wrote in the post, which has been viewed Us Weekly.
Joseph, 31, was arrested on Wednesday, March 18, amid allegations of sexually abusing a 9-year-old girl six years ago while they were visiting family.
He was charged with molestation of a victim under the age of 12 and lewd and lascivious behavior by a person 18 or older, according to a press release from the Bay County Sheriff’s Office in Florida.
Joseph, the seventh child of Jim Bob again Michelle Duggarhe has since waived his right to a criminal trial in Arkansas and will soon be extradited to Florida to face the charges.
The girl, now 14 years old, alleges that Joseph “asked her to sit next to him on the couch and covered her with a blanket,” according to a BCSO press release, “handled the victim’s underwear and ate her private parts.”
Joseph Duggar
Tontitown Police DepartmentAccording to the girl, Joseph “finally apologized for his actions and the incidents stopped after he apologized.”
Investigators found that the girl’s father confronted Joseph about these incidents on Tuesday, March 17, and that’s when Joseph confessed his actions to the father of the deceased and to Tontitown detectives.
Joseph is a father of four children and is currently married to his wife Kendra Caldwell. The couple tied the knot in 2017 and share sons Garrett and Justus and daughters Addison and Brooklyn.
Joseph Duggar and his wife, Kendra Duggar, appear to have been last seen in a family vacation video released just weeks before his arrest on child molestation charges. Photos from the Duggar family’s annual Christmas costume party were featured in Joseph’s sister Jessa Duggar’s vlog “Holiday Festivities”, which was published on February 9. In the video, Joseph, […]
Jessa concluded in her since-deleted post, “As a family, we are coming together to support Kendra and her children during this difficult time.” (Kendra, 27, did not appear during Joseph’s court hearing on Friday.)
Jill Duggar was the first of the Duggar children to speak out, revealing that she and her family were “shocked and saddened” to hear about the allegations through media reports.
“We strongly condemn torture. We support the law and hope that justice will be served,” read a statement on his family’s blog. “We pray that God will give him strength, comfort and hope, and that he will be able to get all the help and support he needs and deserves in the coming days.”
